A Billboard Insider reader asks:

Is the idea of a rotating board not something that a lot of billboard companies do anymore? We are going through some transitions in our marketing and software and I have been surprised when talking to people in the industry that the rotating bulletin idea seems like a different or out there idea. When talking to ad agencies we sometimes run into this situation too. I thought it might make for an interesting poll or article idea and I was just curious if we were really that unique with that offering.

Billboard Insider canvassed out of home execs and heard this.

An east coast out of home owner says rotations have a place.

I used to sell a rotary years ago with bulletins. It was more labor-intensive to move vinyl around but it was popular with advertisers. I think it can help with campaign effectiveness as it keeps long-term copy from going stale. We would require a year contract and rotate every three months.   We do it with some advertisers now on our digital network. It can get to be tricky with scheduling if you don’t have a good system in place.

A midwest out of home executive says rotations have a place.

• The first is for a client that might have a regional client base. We can take the client’s vinyl, fold it up and transport it to another location. As most all of our sites are built to the same size, and most sites are within 30 miles of our office, this allows us to take advantage of a space that might be open for 30 to 60 days while the next advertiser is getting their design together and the vinyl printed. This is usually set up in advance with the client and you define the eligible sites and length that the display can be posted.
• The second reason we go with a rotational system is when we have multiple sites within a given city, or near that city. My experience is that of the four display locations that you might have, there is always a #1 site. The location everybody wants to be on. Conversely, there is always the #4 site.  That location that is hard to sell. By utilizing the rotational method, everybody gets to be on the best site at some point. We can raise the rate on all four advertisers and it keeps the message fresh, as it is being moved every 60-90 days. The advertisers love it and have a tendence to stay on the system much, much longer. We currently have this scenario in a city and have a waiting list of clients that want to be on it. I have to tell those people waiting that it might be a while, as we have had the same four clients rotating for 5 years, with no sign of them dropping off.

A west coast out of home executive doesn’t doesn’t see the demand.

We can’t do it due to mostly client specific locations. In fact clients have asked not to be rotated. However it seemed like a constant request to rotate 15 years ago.

What do you think of rotating showings?   Email davewestburg@billboardinsider.com or use the form below and we’ll do a followup article.

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